Monaco Bay Weyr - Sea Nymphs' BoardwalkJutting out over the water is one of the most scenic points of the resort - the Boardwalk. A pair of piers stretch away from the beach and meet over the water to create a lengthy stretch of wooden walkway. It’s practically a miniature resort of its own - it’s wide, long, and heavily populated with a smattering of shops and huts of various types. Fortunately, all of the structures are along the south edge of it, leaving the view of the sea utterly uninterrupted - save for those ships that inevitably pass by. Dolphins can often be spotted in the water, while the sky is alive with firelizards and sea birds alike. At night, the Boardwalk is well-lit and brightly colored, but not oppressively so.
The shops themselves run the gamut: from kitschy gift shops to sausage vendors to carnival-style games with questionable prizes and so much more. Fried sweet treats compete with fudge shops; stained glass and driftwood sculptures are locked in eternal battle with pop-up artists who do caricatures. Carnival games rub up against photography booths offering quick service. There’s plenty to see and do along the Boardwalk, the sights and smells and tastes being an experience unto themselves.

It is a beautiful day at Monaco Bay - though arguably, most days fit that description - and while the crowds at the Resort do not yet rival those of the grand opening celebration, there are groups of people milling around - going from shop to shop, stopping for a treat, pausing to admire the view. On this afternoon, there is one form not doing a ton of moving - instead, a young woman wearing the white knot of a candidate is sitting on the edge of the dock, facing out as her feet dangle over the edge - a fried treat of some sort in her hand, which she makes slow work on. Small sounds of contentment come from her general area, though they could come from the bronze fire lizard settled her shoulder, who is doing a fine job at stealing his own bits of the sweet treat. And so, they sit there, catching a moment's peace.

A tall young woman carefully extricates herself from a particularly dense throng of people gathered around one of the sweet vendors, hands lifted high over her head. A trio of glossy, red apples on sticks are gripped haphazardly in one hand while the other pulls along a pair of younger boys. The boys leap and bounce in her wake, trying to grab for the goodies with the high energy of children. "Alright, here's yours and yours. Don't drop them. Careful!" Somehow she manages to transfer the sweets and avoid getting mauled by the boys. Sighing, she waggles a finger at them. "Go and play some of the games. I'll catch up with you but you stay by the games." They don't seem to have heard her as they charge off towards those games and Coral's shoulders slump as she heads down the boardwalk, ending up by the candidate and her firelizard. Smiling, she waggles her candy apple. "Hello."

The bronze is the first to look up, for Wendyn is busy popping the last bit of sweet into her mouth - and it is Dishere's continued attention elsewhere that finally indicates to Wendyn that there is someone talking to her. Glancing with with stuffed cheeks that become a grin after a moment, she bobs her head. "Hey there." She offers, before eyes slip to the candy apple. "You'll have to let me know how that is!" Someone has a sweet tooth, that is for sure. Scooting a bit, Wendyn arranges herself to lean lightly against a railing post, turned to keep an eye on Coral, even as she waves a hand as if inviting the young woman to join her. "I find the view makes everything taste even better."

Coral watches the little firelizard with interest, but doesn't do any finger-wiggling or other movement that might draw it's attention to her, as though wary, or just doesn't want to share her treat. Ha. Her smile smile widens when Wendyn notices her and she giggles behind the apple held before her. "It has to be good if that line is any indication." When the spot beside the other girl is offered, she bobs her head, curls bouncing. "If you don't mind me joining you, that would be great, I need a break from chasing those little brats all morning." There's a playful note in her voice. Brats indeed.

Dishere is at least well-mannered enough to not go and do anything rude like trying to steal the candy apple - though perhaps its because his stomach is already stuffed from Wendyn's own treat, and so he is content to drape over Wendyn's shoulders and let his eyes lid lazily. "Shards, brats are the worst." Wrinkling her nose, Wendyn shakes her head a little. "Actually, that's a lie. I am pretty sure some of these resort guests are worse." A pause and she bites her lip, carefully looking Coral over. "You.. aren't a resort guest, right?" Or is she just going to insult everyone right off that bat, even before introductions.

Coral glances over her shoulder in the direction of the two hellions in question, or at least the last location she saw them but the crowd has gobbled up the two boys. She lets out a huff of breath. "You have no idea." Cruching on the apple, she settles her long frame down and after slinging off her sandals, thrugs her legs out over the water, flexing her toes. "Oh, are resort guests aweful? Oh no!" Giggling, she wipes some of the sweetness from the apple from her chin. "I'm a visitor, does that make me a guest? I am rather horrible."

"Only the -really needy- ones. Who think they are.. important or something. Or more important than everyone else, and how dare you not see that and serve them first before all these random people in front of them." Wendyn rolls her eyes, even as the complaint is coming out all in a single breath, and then she blushes a bit as the other girl admits to being a guest. "Shards. Uhm, Sorry.." It is, at best, a half-hearted apology, even as she tilts her head. "I mean, for what its worth, you don't -seem- horrible." A pause, and a hand is offered, though it is lightly still sticky from her earlier snack. "Wendyn.. I, uh, hope I haven't put you off Monaco Bay."

Coral gives a quick shake of her head at the idea of being, or acting, important. "Ohno, that wouldn't be me. Are they really like that? Are they Lords and Ladies? They are always like that I think." Her nose crinkles and she glances around, just to be sure no one who looks like they are blooded are lurking around to denounce such suggestions. "Do you work here? At the resort? We're just visiting for the day, to give my foster parents a few hours of peace. I'm Coral by the way. And just don't tell my foster brothers I'm not horrible, they are quite sure I'm rotten." She grins and shakes her head, waving off the concern with her half munched apple before taking the offered hand. "Nah. we're from the hold, my foster family and I."

"Lords and Ladies and old Masters who think that because they are good at one thing, they are special. Half of them are probably just so stubborn they stuck with it for long enough, they finally just got the knot to get them to shut up." Wendyn shakes her head, gaze drifting over the various groups of people in the area, inclining her head at one middle-aged couple in fine clothes completely unsuited for Monaco's climate. "As part of our chores, us candidates are doing shifts here, too, until everything is fully staffed. I don't know if they think it will help expose us to more people or what." A shrug, and she offers a more sincere smile then, as Coral indicates they are from the Hold. "Ahh, so then you are used to this. I was raised in Igen - Shards, ain't like this at all. I can't get over all the water."

Coral peers towards the ill-dressed couple as she takes another bite of the apple. "Well, truth be told, I spend more time out in the fields, picking, pruning or planting to get out here at all." She pauses and then crinkles her nose. "Oh, you mean the weather! Yeah, it's not at all like Igen. I hear there's so much dust and sand at Igen that you have to wear masks around your face when you go out." With a blink she asks, "is that true? Are you from the hold or the weyr? And that's so cool you're a candidate. I was going to ask, since you have the knot and all, but…anyway, that's so great."

"The weather and the.. lushness." Wendyn agrees, waving a hand to the jungle that surrounds the resort. "I thought I was dreaming, the first time I saw all the trees." Tilting her head back to rest it against the post, pulling one leg up to her chest, wrapping an arm around it, Wendyn's voice turns slightly wistful. "The Hold. Or.. well, yeah, the Hold. And, I mean, it is sandy, and dusty.. and hot." Not really selling the place, are you Wendyn. "But I miss the clothes and the layers and the sound of the wind through the dunes.." A frown appears briefly, before she vanishes it with a quick shake of her head. "Aye, first time at it, too. Normally, I'm a miner, so it is definitely a bit of a change."

Coral listens with great inerest, the apple mostly finished except for the core on a stick that she lays aside her now. "I don't think I'd like the heat, but it would be neat to see somewhere new. I've seen a painting once at a gather, it was beautiful." With a sudden smile, she sits up straighter at Wndyn's remark about her craft. "My parents were minecrafters before they impressed. They've been on me for turns to apprentice, but…I dunno." Looking awward, she glances away and shrugs and bites back confessing too much and squares her shoulders before turning back to Wendyn, smile renewed. "Anyway. Do you have brothers? Sisters?"

"Its not as bad as here, some days. I mean, it's a dry heat." Says everyone who loves the desert across all of forever. "Oh? Are your parents here, or? My dad, he's a Miner, that's why I think I found it. My pa, though, he's a Vintner, and my brother takes after him." Are you confused yet? "They just adopted the two of us, I think we probably kept them busy enough, to avoid considering more. Sometimes I wish there were more, and then I end up suckered into helping nanny and I thank Faranth I'm the baby." A little shiver, despite the warmth, and Wendyn smiles encouragingly. "Ain't everyone meant to be an apprentice, you know. I mean, you seem to keep busy anyway."

Coral motions off behind her in a vague way. "Monaco weyr." She gives a nod and hesitates and then says quietly, "mom's a brownrider and dad rides blue. I live with my mom's sister at the hold, but I get to see my folks all the time…so, it's nice. You…you're pa is not your dad? Is your pa your foster father?" She tips her head to the side, obviously trying to puzzle it out. "I like playing nanny to my little brothers. I think I'd like a whole hold of kids like auntie. Work in the orchards and … yeah, just work, not go to the farm craft and apprentice. My folks…all of them…they just think I need that craft knot…ya know?" Shrugging she rolls her eyes. "Status or whatever."

"That would be nice, I think. I usually have to beg my brother to take me for a visit home, but his bronze sired the clutch that's on the Sands at Half Moon, and with everything else going on, he's been real fussy lately." At least Wendyn thinks so. "But, I guess I shouldn't go too far now anyway." A shrug and she glances out over the water, before laughing softly at Coral's questions about her father. "I mean, they're both my fathers, but.. Dad is dad and pa is pa.. Easier, that way, I guess, otherwise they both answered. Either way, you don't get very far when you're stuck in an endless 'Ask your father'." Gaze is drawn back to Coral, and she nods after a moment. "They can all shove off, frankly." Pause. "Though, maybe I can see why you don't tell them that." Shifting, Wendyn attempts to get comfortable - the movement causing a protest to erupt from Dishere, before she settles back down. "Are they your cousins?" She asks intrusively, tossing her head in the direction the boys disappeared.

Coral's smile widens, likely seeing a kindred spirit in someone with dragonrider kin where she doesn't need to feel awkward around someone who doesn't understand. "That's so cool. Your brother must be really proud of that. Clutchsire." She pitches her voice lower, "Unless he's bullheaded like some bronzeriders are." She clears her throat and looks over her shoulder before grinning back to Wendyn. "What about your mom? Do you have two moms?" As though that would be totally normal too. "As for me telling them off? See, that's part of the reason I'm so horrible, I kinda spoke my mind strongly when I decided I wasn't going to let anyone ship me off to a crafthall. Ungrateful too, you see. But I work hard and don't get into too much trouble, so aside from bugging me now and then about it and my 'future', I'm not getting hauled off or handfasted like some girls." She shudders at the very idea as she watches the firelizard fuss. "Yeah, there are nine boy cousins. My foster brothers."

"Yeah, they're real proud. Tried to get me to come stand for their clutch, but Szeta put an end to that right quick. Trix - he's my brother's bronze - didn't think it through, and she didn't like him stealing me away right from her own hatching grounds." And golds? They are scary. A blush, and Wendyn shakes her head hurriedly. "Ain't got a mom. I mean, I guess I did once, but I.. really don't remember her. Just bits and pieces, that maybe are just dreams." Whatever protests Wendyn may have made about all the things Coral lists for why she is horrible are forgotten in a single instant are the word 'nine' is spoken. Instead, she sits there, mouth agape, staring at Coral across the space, blinking a few times, words starting to come, before vanishing once more. Eventually, though, she does manage to find her voice. "Faranth help you.. -Nine-?" A hurried shake of her head and a soft 'nu-uh' under her breath and she shakes her head again. "Nine. Shards, 1 is bad enough. But -9-."

Coral giggles in delight, "Wait, what happens if your lifemate is over at Half Moon? You are seriously lucky!" She sighs quietly and then nibbles at her lower lip, thoughtful. Focusing back on her companion, she grins toothily and nods. "Farmcrafters." As though that's all the answer one needs for such fertility, though her eyes sparkle with mirth. "And all boys! They can be so disgusting. Burping and farting and…ugh, I will stop right there to spare you the details, you have a brother, you must be able to imagine it for yourself."

"I'm sure it will be -fine-." Wendyn offers in a tone that implies that that possibility has already been brought up and likely analyzed to death, before she laughs softly. "Still, even for farmcrafters!" Another little shudder, and she shakes her head. "That, and then they think that it's ok to like, hit on your friends and flirt and shards, I feel like I can't bring him anywhere." A long, dramatic sigh, and she rolls her eyes. "And now, with Trix, half of them fall for it, and I'm left like.. where did I go wrong. At least I am not -actually- related to him."

"An embarassment of riches. When are your brother's eggs…well, Half Moon's eggs, due to hatch? I mean, obviously you don't know exactly, but I'm sure you're right and it will turn out well." Coral gives a firm nod and winces in sympathy for Wendyn's friends. "And you have to be the good friend and hold their hand when he disapoints them. Because if he's like my brothers, there's definately disappointment. My foster brothers think it's great sport to 'defend' me from any potential males. Which, I must say, gets tedious very quickly. As though I can't attend to my own interests. Insulting. Farmcraft boys can be rather…backwards."

"I think about halfway between now and Szeta's, but with everything shaking over there, I don't know what they'll do. I think my brother is worried the whole Weyr is going to come down around them." A contemplative look crosses her face as she considers it. "I'm sure the Weyrleader thinks so too, now. He used to be there, before it all started." But then she is going back to the slightly more cheerful subject of dumb boys. "I mean, Sometimes I wish he was around, to get rid of the worst of them, but at the same time, it is nice to have him far enough away that he isn't interrupting at the worst times." Because brothers. "How can you even avoid all nine of them at once?" Wendyn clearly still is having issues processing that bit. "I mean, they have to be everywhere."

Coral's voice lowers and she murmurs, "that's right…the shakes. It's really as bad as the rumors? I kinda just thought people were exaggerating." Aside from offering a small smile of sympathy for the plight of the weyr, there's little else she can say. Instead, she too returns to the topic of brothers. "You really would reconsider using him as deterrent the first time he drives away the boy you are actually interested in though. Or, offering you suggestions for the right type of boy who would be handfasting material so you can start a family." She grins that impish smile again and winks. "There is no avoiding them or their advice. Luckily, Kilnt, Xheter, Ealin, Thortin, and Yurlimon," she rattles off the names rappid fire, "are all handfasted now, so they have their own wives to worry over."

"Shards, I don't know. My brother goes on and on about how he is worried, about how the Weyrleader is an idiot.. but then seems to think it ain't bad enough to not… take me back there with him. I mean, I figure if it was *that bad* he'd have not suggested it, right?" So, clearly, Wendyn is in the 'total exaggeration' camp. A small laugh, and Wendyn shakes her head. "I mean, I think A'she would know better than to try and 'fast me off to anyone - because if I don't catch him, either Dad or Pa will, and that'd probably be even worse." As Coral rattles off names, she ponders for a moment. "So, you have 4 left to dodge? I guess that's not so bad."

Coral crinkles up her nose in regards to the danger of the earth-quaking. "I mean, if it really was that bad, wouldn't they bundle up the eggs and fly them long-ways to the closest weyr? No way they'd leave them in real danger." Because that's just crazy-talk. Right? "You have your dad and pa looking out for you and I'm sure no way a bronzerider would be daft enough to think an arrange marriage is the thing." She nods about her brothers left, adding, "The younger ones aren't so bad. Besides, I'm very good at match-making." Because that's so much better than arranged marriages. Right? Ahem.

"Right? I mean. Whatever. Glad I ain't a Weyrleader though, having to make that decision. You either look like a coward or you look like an idiot." And it is up for debate as to which is worse. As she mentions her younger brothers, and her matchmaking, Wendyn's laughter escapes as a snort, which then turns to giggles. "I suppose, once they are old enough you can just shove them out the door. Until you end up with their brats in their places." Biting her lip, Wendyn seems to consider if this is actually an upgrade. "You've gotta be old enough, just run away. Then you don't have to worry." Bad Ideas Wendyn finally arrives, even as a figure is weaving against the crowd, seemingly searching for something - or someone.

Coral streches out her legs and flexes her toes, enjoying the warmth. "I agree. I'm glad to be a simple farmer, far away from the shaking ground." She leans back, bracing her weight on her hands settled behind her. "I love children, so I am always happy to watch the little ones. And I can spoil them and send them back home. Win-win." She catches sight of the person with that searching gaze and chews at her lip. "I hope that's not someone looking for me to report that the brats got into something…"

As Coral's gaze wanders to the searching person, Wendyn groans, even as she is moving to get to her feet. "Shards, nah. Its the shopkeeper I'm assigned to for the day. I guess I took too long of a break." And he is seemingly not the type to get candidates escape an honest day's work. "Good luck, and I mean, I'm sure the Weyr always needs Nannies, if you ever want to avoid the pressures of family." Waggling her fingers, she sighs even as she jogs to meet the man, before they turn and head back to one of the shops along the row.

Coral appears both relieved but disappointed that the man isn't here with bad news for her, but also that her companion has to depart to work. "Thank you and I hope to visit with you again, Wendyn. Here's hoping you don't get cornered by any uppity guests." She waves towards the woman and then settles back again but after a moment or two of sitting alone, gets up and goes in search of the boys.